Just Noticed.

I never seem to make any posts these days that aren't in the 1-2AM range. Weird.

Just checking in, saying hi, all that jazz. My world has become decidedly less exciting since Faire came to a close some weeks back. Y'know, I was going to write something long and probably whiny about how there are far far fewer women hanging about since the end of faire as well. But I'll just leave it at me missing all my friends from Faire, male and female.

Super Dimension Fortress: Macross. Wow. So I picked this up from Tony, supplier of fine second-hand computer bits. It's an awesome story. But the animation... It's kinda funny to see the same coloring errors I grew up with watching Transformers. See Main Character. See Main Character oddly recolored for reasons that escape reason. See Main Character back to his original colors in time to say something. But it's still a great story. Got me playing many many hours of Robotech: Battlecry again. Whee!

I think I'll get back to that anime.

viva el jameson!

Black Friday

Ah, the worst, I mean busiest retail day of the year. Only thanks to working in the Geek Squad it wasn't bad at all. Crowded was the worst part of it, and that's just because there were so many of us there physically in the Precinct. It got so slow after about noon, that I was sent home an hour early! On Black Friday! How awesome is that? Really damn, that's what it is.

I'm looking forward to Christmas. Thanksgiving showed me how much I can miss most of my family. It was really nice being able to hang out and just talk with cousins and aunts and uncles and siblings. My cousin Audrey's little girl is about 6 months old and HUGE. One of the most touching images of the day was "Granddaddy Ray" (Audrey's father, my uncle) bouncing little Allison on his knees. I don't think I've seen that man so absolutely happy in some time. Which is not to say he was unhappy, I'd dare to say otherwise.

Which got my brother and I talking. We're getting old. My other older cousin, and the oldest of us, is getting married next year. It's starting to happen. We're slowly becoming the last generation, not the next one. Parents are becoming grandparents. Grandparents, matriarchal great-grandmothers. I certainly wouldn't complain if I found someone to make a family with. And soon, really. Maybe not right away soon. Find that person, insert appropriate amount of time, marriage, appropriate amount of time, children. I would be pleased if my life folded out to such a way as to have my first son by 30. If not two children. I'd like that very much, actually. But that's me, I suppose. Others would, no doubt, caution me against "rushing" into such things.

At least my life is good for the most part. I have plenty of anime it consume as I might. I wish Skywarp were up and running, but that'll fix itself soon enough. Christmas is coming and this year I'll actually be able to afford to buy people gifts this year. Gasp!

all the way home i'll be warm

Ah, Geekcraft.

So I've finally tossed and moved around all my files. I got a 160GB used hard drive off my buddy Tony (also the supplier of the Super Monitor). As such, I decided to use my 120GB secondary drive as the primary, as was my intention long, long ago. It took some time, though. Megatron's USB 2.0 slot got damaged in a tragic Bailey-Knocking-the-Laptop-Off-a-Table accident. So I was using USB 1.1 to transfer from the 120GB to the 40GB drive in Megatron to the 160GB drive using an external enclosure and switching the drives back and forth. Whee. Weren't that fun? Right now, though, I am attempting to install Windows on the 120 while using my laptop on the same desk. Mmm, Geekery.

so many fans...

Not Gonna Do It

I am not going to turn this into a once a week blog. I promise. I've just been reluctant to get too comfortable using Megatron all the time. Since I have this huge ass paperweight/desktop-space-taker-upper which used to be my PC until I get the RAM issue figured out. But that's an issue not likely to be solved anytime in the next few weeks. Although my next paycheck is going to be a little bigger than normal, thanks to personal hours added to fill the gap in hours PLUS my 38 hours this week PLUS the eight hours of holiday pay for Thanksgiving. Whee. But rent is due on that check. Oh well.

Work. Yeesh. I'm looking forward to the day when I'm a Double Agent and can get out of the tech bench. I love the work, but the people are starting to make me ill. I got spoken to today for not charging a guy up front. First time in something like two weeks that's happened. And it's not as though he's not going to pay for it when he gets in to pick it up. Meanwhile, there are people on the Geek Squad at our store, well, person really, who will use our work computer to download illegal software, music, movies, as well as check his email, and also print out stuff for personal use. Now. I am not above any of those things. However, I am above doing such on company time using company computers and paper. That's rudeness. This same fellow is personally responsible for at least on major screw up a day. Sometimes it's in relation to a customer's computer. Sometimes it's in relation to company policy. Either way, it's annoying enough just working with the guy. Cause he never shuts up and always tries to include himself into whatever conversation anyone is having. And always in a horribly self-depreciating way. Not in the funny Rodney Dangerfield kinda way. In the annoying "Oh yeah, well I've had it worse because..." and "I'm a retard, hur." Yeah. And he smells like cheap cigarettes and unwashed breathe. All the time.

Black Friday. Not looking forward to that. I am lucky, though. I'm working 11-7:30. A much safer shift. The 7 hour sale ends at noon. And most of the people and the product will most likely have disappeared at that point anyway.

to destroy the evil forces of the decepticons

Tomorrow, Tomorrow

Not a whole lot to report. This weekend looks to be...comfortable. The first in some time, actually. I get paid. Not only that, but I sold some things on eBay for more than I thought I would. And those funds should transfer right around the same time as my paycheck hits my bank account. How awesome is that? Today at work was...I dunno. Seemed off. But tomorrow, it seems. that I get to represent the Geek Squad at the Chamber of Commerce. I wouldn't have had this opportunity if it weren't for switching my schedule with Juan. Instead of working 7-3:30, I'm working 4-10:30. Sleep in. Yosh!(Japanese for "Alright!")

I did far, far too much laundry last night. Four loads. That's twice my usual run. But then, I got that extra money I forgot about. Helped finance the laundry. Still have one more load to do, but it's not an urgent thing. Thank goodness. Have I mentioned I hate doing laundry?

I'm already planning changes for Captain Grey's costume for next year. Or at least additions. My boots, which have served through seven years of festivals have finally reached the end of their road. Having been resoled two years ago, the leather has split along the sides of the right food far too high to be resoled again. I still love the look of the boots, though. I might see if I can cut them up and turn them into spats. Not too hard to do, really. And they're tossed anyway, so it won't matter if they don't work. What I'd really love is a pair of boots almost exactly like what I have now, only with a much more pronounced heel and arch. Only in brown. Why brown? Well, it's quite simple, really. Brown leather is far more rare. Everyone and their uncle has a pair of black boots from renboots.com or scaboots.com. And even baring those, there are far more pairs of black boots than brown. And no brown boots that have an over the knee cuff. But oh well. However, Kae is being wonderful and amazing. She's designing and making a new doublet for me. The old one? A great and beautiful doublet it is. Just...too big. When it was measured for, I was much wider about the middle than I am now. Heck, by the time I got it, it was a little large. So I keep it. It works really well for if I want to pull off a more well dressed rogue-ish type. Someone likely to be hanging around Captain Christian more than, say, Lord Eric. Which Grey has, in the annals of feigned story for our own amusement, set to sail with the good captain Christian once or twice. Might be the kind of thing he'd wear whilst setting against the merchants of France and Spain. But we shall see.

Talking on the phone for an hour and a half until 1:30AM or so. But it'd never work out. No, surely not.

The computer. It is broken yet again. And only I can fix it. Right.

can't live with 'em. can't shoot 'em

Aftermath

Well, perhaps too dark a word for the meaning I intend, but I do like my drama. The Carolina Renaissance festival has, indeed, come to a close. The last weekend was (unseasonably) fair and bright. A little too warm for my tastes, but what can you do? The cast-party was as awesome as always. And there was Guiness! Guiness on tap! For free! After salivating over it for an entire season, there it was in my hand. A nice cool glass of Guiness straight from the tap. Yum. And of course, the free food. But it was the talent show that made the event, as it does every year. Lots of really fun stuff. I'll miss the faire, as I do every year. I wish I would have had every weekend this year, but it was not to be, I suppose. Next year will be different. We'll have to see. I got paid for the run this weekend, too. That was cool. I forgot about that completely, so when the bossman comes around handing out checks, I was like "Sweet!" And it was awesome. Oh! And our new entertainment director is officially the entertainment director. His name is Rob and all of us are glad he's on board. Good guy.

On a sadder note, The faire season saw something wonderful come into bloom and fade into the autumn wind. Started with the premiere of Serenity and the opening weekend, and ended late last night. It is something I will always cherish and I will miss it.

To the one I will miss: I love you. Now and always. We have parted as lovers, but will always be dearest companions and friends. Remember that.

that's right, a shakespeare reference in the blues

Gotta Write More Often

I didn't get Double Agent. This time. But this is legitmate. When my (former) supervisor applies for the Double Agent position, there's little I can do. He was far, far more qualified. But he's merely the third of a proposed 6 DA's. And there's another one opening up in December. So I've put my foot in the door, management is looking at me. I've just got to continue to rock it hard.

Speaking of rocking hard, I've won like 5 movies at work as part of a Geek Squad contest. And today? Today I won a video game. Soul Calibur III. Score.

Also, do you hear that? Listen closely now...

...go on...

...just a little longer...

What is that sound you hear? It's the sound of my phone not ringing. It's the sound of having no obligations to fix anybody's anything! The biggest items on my to-do list tonight are to eat some homemade spaghetti and meat sauce and to get my ass handed to me by the CPU opponents in Soul Calibur III. Whee!

Also, is it Friday yet?

and if the train's on time you'll get to work by nine

Playing Catch Up

A most uneventful Halloween was had by us here tonight, but that's really for the best. For some reason, the faire really took the wind out of our sails yesterday. Saturday was awesome, though. I think it might have been the time difference combined with a significantly warmer day Sunday.

The world of Mobile Suit Gundam has been occupying most of my time these last few weeks. I've been downloading every scrap of it I can. I plowed my way through Mobile Suit Gundam (aka Gundam 0079), all 42 episodes, over the course of about 4 days. It's the beast that spawned years of anime. It's also a very well written show. Politics, war, love. It paints a sympathetic picture of both sides. It also shows the villains that are found on both sides. This is one of the things I've always loved about the Gundam series. Both sides can be hated and sympathized with at the same time. Plus all the really awesome mechas running about. Gundam 08th MS team, Gundam 0080 and Gundam 0083 I had seen before. I had caught many episodes of Mobile Suit Gundam, but never anything that amounted to a majority of them. MSG (ha!) has an awesome soundtrack, at least during the episodes. The main battle music, very full of brass and strings, makes it impossible to not bob your head in time. The original opening theme is...well, horrible and cheesy, but appropriate for the time. The animation is good, though. I just started Zeta Gundam. It's set some 7 or 8 years after the One Year War (Mobile Suit Gundam, Gundam 08th MS Team). Many of the main characters from MSg are drawn back into the political struggle. The animation is amazing, and the music, especially the opening sequence, is epic and grand. just amazing. I'm on 35 of 50 episodes, having started this past Thursday. Bear in mind I was nowhere near my computer for two days straight.

We were finally able to hit the grocery store today. Which is exciting because Chris and I love to cook. So we're shopping and "You know what would be good? This and that together." "Yeah! And we have some of that, so let's get plenty of this!" "Score!" So we do. We don't bargain hunt for groceries, most of the time, but we do pay attention. x might be on sale, but we like y better, so we get y. Tonight Chris made some Guiness beer cheese soup with some Guiness cooked thick sliced bacon chunks in it. Yum! And using a little butter in the bacon grease, I fried me up some grilled cheese sandwiches to go along with it. Yum-yum. I plan to die of congestive heart failure in about three months. I'm well on my way, I think.

In sadder news, I have only one weekend of faire left. I always hate getting up so early to go, but I always love doing it. And I'll like having money again. It's not cheap for all of us to do faire as we do. Gas is expensive, especially for my car. Hotels aren't free. And we'd rather be broke and at the hotel than have a little cash and have to camp. Ick. So maybe we aren't "real rennies" for that. But we like air conditioning and hot tubs and pools and hot showers and soft beds and free breakfast. The last weekend is shaping up to be something very special, even moreso than usual, at least. I look forward to it.

ego te amo, Kae

Geek Squad Gunslinger

So Geek Squad has two kinds of Agents(employees). There are the Counter Intelligence Agents, that do the in store work, like what I do. We're the best paid employees in the store outside of salaried managers, but we're still susceptible to the retail availibility requirements of working weekends. The Double Agents get to use the Geek Squad cars(which they hang on to), they get a nifty badge, get to
set their availability as best suits them, and make money more like a Geek Squad Supervisor. Or better. Because of their mad kung fu skillz. Also, the Double Agents don't report in to the infrastructure the same way normal employees do. They're responsible to the salaried managers and the district managers, but are pretty much given free reign, so long as the work gets done.

The computer area manager came up to me at the end of my shift today saying he needed to talk to me. He told me there was going to be an opening for a new Double Agent. He wanted to know if I wanted the job. He said "Your computer knowledge is top-notch. We're going to be opening up a new Double Agent position, and it looks like you're it." Glee!

hey tycho. yoink.

Jack Thompson, Total Douche. The Sequel.

So there's this webcomic. It's been around for many years. Turn of the century origins. In it's essence, it's just two guys who like video games and have an appealing sense of art and humor. Video games and gaming in general is their passion. And many of us in this world envy them because they make their livings making comics about gaming. And they seem to be doing right well at it. They are Penny Arcade. But in the last few years, they have been thrust to the fore of the gaming community. They have true power. They have their own convention up in Seattle. A webcomic. Hosting it's own convention. And it's a huge convention. Not only that, but they also use their power for the forces of good, organizing Child's Play, a nation-wide charity that takes donations of video games, toys, books, and money and donates them to children's hospitals around the nation for Christmas.

And now they're poised to take on politics.

As mentioned in my last entry, Jack Thompson, Douche at Law, has created his own version of Jonathon Swift's A Modest Proposal. Well, it seems someone made a mod for GTA III along those lines. Mr. Thompson flipped and said it was only satire, including his promise to donate $10,000 to Paul Eibeler's favorite charity, should said game be made. We, the gamers of this nation, called his bluff. But that's not the end of it, no. Penny Arcade did him one better. They actually donated the full $10,000 to the Entertainment Software Association Foundtaion. In his name. Eat it. Go here to see the third piece of the Thompson v. PA saga. Mr. Thompson, as seen in the news post I just linked to, attempted to involve the Seattle Police Department. That some one this completely off his rocker is respected by anyone is completely beyond me.

On a personal note, Jack Thompson wrote an email to the LiveJournal Game Politics, stating "You all seem rather bothered and worried about a nonentity. God is in this battle, and I am privileged to be a foot soldier. You all should be concerned, not about me, but about Him." Now, as a Christian, I am offended. There is no God in his actions. If he was working for God in this, he would be a lot more coherent, more serene. Instead he is incoherent, I'd say even bratty. This is not a man of God, ladies and gentlemen. This is an utter psychopath, spittle and everything.

long live the fighters!

Jack Thompson, Total Douche.

So there's this man in Florida. This man is an anti-gaming lawyer. He is paranoid and extreme. His personal beliefs seem to be that all gamers are time-bombs waiting to go off and kill lots of innocent people. Anytime any kid kills a bunch of kids, his reaction is "sue video games" not "where were the parents." He's gotten so bad, that even the National Institute on Media and the Family has said "Whoa there, ease up, hoss." Some of you have, by now, heard of his proposal for a video game. If you don't want to take the time to read it, here's the gist. A father takes revenge on anyone and everyone even loosely associated with video games after his child is killed by a kid who went crazy after playing a violent video game. He trakes down Paula Eibel(Paul Eibler) of Take This(Take Two/Rockstar) games and kills her. And everyone in the building. Then makes a mad mad killing spree across the nation going into and killing people in Best Buy's, Circuit City, EB Games, etc. All in a mad dash to make it E3 where he can kill everyone there. In exchange for this, he will give $10,000 to a charity.

Boy, he's a reasonable one, isn't he.

It seems that Gabe of Penny Arcade wrote him a letter detailing how paltry a sum that is compared to Child's Play, which he and his partner Tycho, were key in organizing. Child's Play has, in two years, collected more than $500,000 for children's hospitals. And these are amateurs. Not corporate nods, just a bunch of middle class gamers giving.

It seems Mr. Thompson didn't take that too well. Twice.

All I have to say is go for the jugular, Penny Arcade. We the gamers of this world are behind you.

where is my mind

What a day.

So my raise finally kicked in. Went from just a little more than $8/hr to just over $10. Oorah! And I had a pleasantly short day. Even though I went in at 7, those first three hours were superbilicious. Got a part of my Geek Squad uniform, the rest is on order. Saw Serenity again. I'll need to see it this weekend, though. Just to be safe. Also, if anyone is interested, I'm selling off the old bits of Skywarp what are still good. Pretty cheap considering what you get in the bundle. And I won't get to appreciate my raise for another two weeks. Pity the poor me. Seriously.

pour me, pour me, pour me

Captain Grey, '05, Part Deux

Man. I am hot.

i'm too sexy for my...armor?

Captain Grey, '05

Captain Grey has an alternative outfit this year! Hooray for lots of metal! Don't know as I'll wear it every day, though. If it's over 70 degrees outside, it's hot enough in the regular stuff. Metal breathes a whole lot less than layers of cloth, I tell ya what. But I think I look right smashing in the new stuff, don't you?

hush hush, eye to eye

Can't Stop the Signal

Wow. A lot to report. Skywarp is back online and better than ever, save for the need to reload all my software. But oh well. I'm just happy everything is working like it should. Or better.

Serenity. Oh. My. God. What a movie. One of the best movies of all time. But I'm biased.

Katherine. Oh. My. God.

Work is starting to lose the novelty, but that's ok, because right as the novelty wears off, my pay increase kicks in. It's a fair trade.

CRF opening weekend. Too damn hot, but otherwise fantastic. It was a little disappointing at the hotel, given the light crowd. But in other ways, this past Saturday night was the best of my whole life. And the best part about the CRF 2005 season? Guards don't carry any bodies off the field! Holy crap!

I might write up a more coherent entry later. Like when my computer isn't screaming at me to restart.

back in the saddle again

The Passing of an Old Friend

Or, rather, part of an old friend. Skywarp's Mach Speed 694TAS motherboard passed away some time over the weekend. I was not there to witness it's passing, but when I got home Sunday evening I saw that my computer had shut down. I did the usual tests, just to make sure (including a really nifty test borrowing the power supply and motherboard testers from the Geek Squad!), but it was the motherboard. Which is terribly convenient for me. I didn't want to have to take apart the power supply to get at my fans. Because of the age of the internal components, however, I was left in a quandry. It would have cost a significant amount to get a similarly performing motherboard. Apparently Mach Speed made the best performing one out there. And none of the ones I found were cheap at all. So for just a little more money I can upgrade the motherboard, get a better processor and faster RAM. Here is what Skywarp will look like when he is up and running again:

AMD Sempron 64 2800+
2GB PC3200 DDR RAM
20GB HDD
120GB HDD
Floppy
6-in-1 Media Reader
16x DVD-ROM
12x DVD+/-RW

And since John's Aunt is looking for a new computer, and has come to me for it, I might can afford to do that very, very soon. I can't wait!

i know, i know, i know, i want you, want you

Gyar, aye matey!

National Talk Loik a Poirate Day! Yar!

The new monitor is still kicking ass.

As requested(read: hounded), a poem for Michelle:
"an ode to Michelle
silly short haiku poem
obligation done"

Thank you, thank you. No applause, just throw money. So my next paycheck, the one with nearly overtime, holiday pay and time and a half for my full day working Labor Day, will see the beginning of my Employee Stock Purchase plan. I am excited, especially given how strong Best Buy's stock seems to be. I'm also almost done with the training phase of Geek Squad. This week or next and then I'll be seeing the pay increase. Hooray for a higher pay scale! Don't get me wrong, the wage I was making on the floor in Car Fi was liveable for me. Single, little obligation, two roommates. But it wasn't what one would call "rolling" money. And I liked working over in Car Fi. There was responsibility, and I had more than most of the people in the department (aside from the Supervisor and the Senior) because Jimmy, the sup, knew he could trust me with it, and did, but not nearly the pressure that exists in, say, Computers. The Computer department is responsible for a much larger chunk of our daily budget than Car Fi. About ten times as much of the budget as Car Fi. And I get to listen to music all day. But eight hours working on computers is so much better for me and on me than six and half seling car stereos. Geek squad is where I wanted to be, and that's where they've got me. And a lot sooner than I thought I'd be there. And! I now have three Geek Squad t-shirts to wear until I "get" my Geek Squad uniforms. How awesome is that?

Man, I haven't made a real post in a long time, have I?

Have I mentioned I really like my job?

Another geek issue for you guys. Windows Vista. It used to be Longhorn, but the personal use version got renamed, whereas Longhorn is for servers. I got a hold of a copy of Vista Beta 1. And I have to say it's a very pretty system. A little faster than XP was on my laptop, which is somewhat surpising given that Megatron doesn't have but 512MB of RAM. I think Vista would actually look better on Skywarp, but there's some compatibility issues there I'm sure. The only things I don't like right off the bat, other than not working with the latest version of AIM, are the lack of a Disk Cleanup utility and the fact that it takes up SO MUCH SPACE. I'm sure there are files there I could delete if I wanted to, but I don't know what they are. I fear the "bloat" will only get worse in the final version. I might need to see about format Megatron and doing a fresh install. Might cut down on the size a bit, but I'm not holding my breath. Maybe I should do that. Hmm.

I bet my laundry is done. Bleh. I hate doing laundry.

how I wish, how I wish you were here

Forgot the Title the First Time Around

Yar, indeed, me mateys. Every day is a good day for me in the Geek Squad. At least so far, anyway. And I'll take that. My fellow agent, Tony, seems to have a 19" Sony Trinitron monitor he does not want. So he's going to sell it to me for $45. Sony. Monitor. LCD. Holy cow. Score!

Also, I'm selling an old doublet on eBay for anyone that's interested in it. Good condition. Used only very little and lovingly at that. Included in the auction is a beret I got some time ago. It has seen very little use, as I soon after got my first of three cavalier hats (felt, cheap leather, real deal leather.)

Speaking of costuming! Chris' wife, Lani, is doing me a wonderful favor in making me a red cape to go along with the new outfit Lord Captain Grey is wearing. Breastplate, metal bracers, red cape. I will look very captainy indeed. I am even having a pair of significantly snug pants made. I will be fabulous. In that completely heterosexual way. Seriously.

fabulous is as fabulous does

Oh. My. God.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Holy cow. There are no words to describe how unbelievably awesome that movie is.

sephiroth!

It Doesn't Mean That I'm Weird

So for the past couple of nights I've been having some weird dreams. Which I suppose is really just "regular" dreams, but given how often I don't dream, it's weird for me. And on top of the real dreams is a lot of half-dreams where my mind is stuck in the world of Xenosaga. Which is an awesome game. Of course, it would help if my cat would stop thinking that 7:30 is an excellent time for me to get up. Even though I don't have to be up and at anywhere at all. At least until today, when I have to be in at work at 2:45. Yeah. Definitely need to be up at 7:30 for that. Especially after staying up until 3:30 playing Xenosaga because I didn't have to be up until 12:00-1:00 the next day because I don't have to be in at work until 2:45. Damn cat. Good thing he's cute. Otherwise he'd be one dead kitty. But for now there is lunch and then work. Hooray.

gotta have my pops